Comet Comments

Don Machholz

A new comet has been discovered in the Southern Hemisphere. It is visible in our evening sky, while Comet LINEAR (1998 T1), dimmer than expected, is in the morning sky.

Steve Lee visually discovered a new comet in the southern sky while observing from a star party in Australia. Then at magnitude 9, the comet, C/1999 H1 (Lee) should brighten as it continues to move north and then behind the sun. It will emerge into our morning northern sky in late July.

The SOHO satellite found two new comets. One (C/1999 G2) was found on April 13 and the other (C/1999 H2) on April 19. Both disappeared.

The LINEAR program found two more comets. The one found on April 7, C/1999 G1 was closest to the sun last September at 4.4 AU and remains faint. The other (C/1999 H3) was found on April 22 and will be closest to the sun this August at 3.5 Astronomical Units. It may brighten to magnitude 13.

The Catalina Program found a new comet on March 23. C/1999 F1 is still nearly three years away from perihelion at 5.8 AU. It is magnitude 19 now, and may brighten by then to magnitude 14.

COMET HUNTING NOTES: Comet Lee is one of four comets found by amateurs at star parties during the past 25 years. In 1975 Doug Berger found Comet Kobayashi-Berger-Milon while looking for M 2 at a San Jose Astronomical Association event. In 1985 I found Comet Machholz (1985e) at the Riverside Telescope Makers' Conference. In 1995, at a star party in Arizona, Thomas Bopp found a comet near M 70. Three of these four finds were accidental finds, and those three comets reached magnitude seven or brighter.